State weighs federal flood aid

Officials: Decision to come next week on seeking help with northwest Indiana damage.

Officials: Decision to come next week on seeking help with northwest Indiana damage.

September 16, 2006

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) -- The state will decide by next week whether to seek federal help to clean up flooding that had subsided Friday, but not before damaging 1,000 to 1,500 homes in northwestern Indiana. Gov. Mitch Daniels on Thursday declared a state of emergency for Lake County. An Indiana Department of Homeland Security team was still in the area assessing damage, which will help determine what federal assistance to seek, spokesman Andy Zirkle said. Basements of many homes were damaged from Wednesday's rain, said Jeff Miller of the Lake County Emergency Management Agency. A flood warning for small streams in northwestern Lake County expired Friday. Water levels in Hart Ditch and along the Little Calumet River in Munster dropped below flood stage, the National Weather Service said. The flooding was produced by up to 5 inches of rain that fell within a few hours Wednesday. The water rose so quickly that some residents were trapped in their homes and officials had to use boats to evacuate students from Southridge Elementary School in Highland. Some of the hundreds of homes that were inundated also had structural damage as basement walls crumbled, while storm sewers backed up and vehicles were swamped along city streets. Some local officials said they were fielding calls from residents saying that their insurance companies would not cover the storm damage. "We're having a lot of problems with our local insurance brokers who are declining coverage," Highland Town Manager Richard Underkofler said. Insurance companies started offering sewer and drain backup coverage about 15 years ago, but many homeowners do not purchase it, said Pamela Vujko, a manager for American Trust & Savings Insurance, of Whiting. Many residents also declined to purchase flood insurance, insurance agents said.